


The Revolution

by D_R_Snow



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Break Dance AU, F/M, I love it!, Miraculous Moves, Step Up Revolution au, lots of dancing involved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 01:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6353653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D_R_Snow/pseuds/D_R_Snow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome to Paris, a city like another. Tall buildings, rich and poor, construction and tear-down. But this city holds a major secret. When a new development threatens to destroy that secret, the guardians have to protect it. What is the secret, who are the guardians?<br/>Isn't it obvious?<br/>The secret identities of every member of 'The Akuma's'. A flash mob group lead by the city's heroes. <br/>Ladybug, and Chat Noir.</p><p>Basically Breakdance!AU, Step Up Revolution style!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue/The Akuma's

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since starrycove on Tumblr came out with the Breakdance!AU, I have not been able to get this story idea out of my head!. It is basically the same thing as Step Up 4: Revolution, but with MLB characters and setting. I like it. Hope you do too!

_Welcome to Paris. A city unlike any other. In place as big as this, it's easy to feel small, to feel insignificant. But behind all of the tall buildings and the Eiffel tower, is my part of the city. Just a few miles from all the big, fancy hotels, but a world away. Growing up in this place, you learn that you have to speak louder than everyone else in order to be heard. Because the truth is, everyone has a voice, and there comes a time when you need to fight, to shout for what you want._

_For me and my friends, that time is now._

\-------------------

The heat of summer scorched down onto the people of Paris. Every young woman in sight was wearing shorts up to their butt cheeks with crop tops, every man below their thirties in a tank top and baggy shorts. Children held ice cream cones, and parents watched them play on the sidewalks as nearby traffic went by, honking horns and yelling at people in front of them for not being fast enough.

Nino walked down the sidewalk with a large suitcase, looking like a tourist on his way to a hotel, such as _La Maison Jardin_ , near the Eiffel Tower. His cap hid most of his upper face, keeping his head cool, his headphones over the top of his cap, covering his ears, though no music was playing. Old fashioned convertibles and muscle cars began to fill the street by the Trocadero, a few familiar faces in the seats of the cars. He stopped by a stone ledge slightly off of the sidewalk when he saw Marinette and Alya turn the corner, as traffic continued to pass him.

Marinette looked out the window, seeing who was there and who wasn’t, making sure everything was in place when Alya broke her out of her thoughts. “You know girl, there is a fifty percent chance that we’re getting busted tonight” The redhead said, securing a flat-bill cap on her head. Besides the hat, Alya was wearing an electric purple sports bra with a graffiti covered jean vest opened over it, a pair of grey shorts, and a pair of grey Jordans with electric blue accents. A few different neon colored hair extensions blended in with her hair. 

“Yeah, maybe” Marinette replied. She wore a black sports bra with a red and black polka dotted crop top over it, black joggers, red Jordans, red wristbands, and two red ribbons in her pigtails. More cars filled the street as traffic moved painfully slow. People were constantly honking and yelling at the people ahead of them to get out of the way. The sidewalks were becoming filled with people. There was even a women with multi colored hair driving a fruit cart, and a little something hidden inside the fruit. A white van pulled over on one side of the road, with four large panes of glass attached to the sides

Marinette looked at Alya “Are you ready?” She asked, a smirk on her face.

“Girl, you’ve got to be kidding me” Alya replied in her normal joking banter. Marinette just bowed her head and smiled as she smeared red face paint across her eyes and forehead. Alya did the same with a pink face paint as she let out a huge whistle, one that Nino and several others had memorized.

One car pulled in front of the others at such an angle that no one on the one way street could get by. Nino unzipped the suitcase, revealing a whole sound system inside. Cars were put in park, Nino’s headphones were plugged in to hear every beat drop and make sure it was clear and loud. Just before a riot broke out, Nino smeared pink face paint onto his face and pressed play, and the street filled with booming music as teens and young adults filed out of cars into the street wearing the same face paint as Alya and Nino, screaming, whooping, and saying things like “Let’s go man!” as they pulled their scared buddies out of the cars. 

Marinette exited her car and looked at the group she had put together, performing a flash mob so big, it was shutting down a crowded street, before joining everyone in the excitement. Men flipped over cars, using each other as spring boards. As the music came to the chorus in the mix, everyone got up on roofs and hoods of cars, where no one could smack a door into them. Everyone began dancing in perfect tandem, each with their own little personal touch on the choreography. 

As the chorus to the song faded into a verse, the dancers all jumped off the cars and into the middle of the street. The woman with the cart moved to such an angle that she could capture everything from the front with her camera hidden within the cantaloupes. Again, in synchronization, they performed moves with such ease that you would have thought they did these moves in their sleep.

Unnoticed by anyone near the street, three men jumped out of the van and grabbed the glass, moving as fast as they could, knowing that they only have a few minutes to finish their full task. As the set down supports and placed the glass, a man with fiery red hair jumped out of the van with several cans of spray paint. He made sure the glass was in place, then got to work. 

Meanwhile, Alya and a few select girls moved the rest of the crew to the sidelines as they prepared for their section. They moved in such a way, shaking their rumps like there was no tomorrow, that one father covered the eyes of his little girl's eyes, making her drop the ice cream cone in her hand.

After about thirty seconds of that, Kim burst out of the group with a few other men, forcing the ladies off of the street, and began spinning on their shoulder, standing on one hand, and flipping off of each other's front sides. The crowd began to cheer as this section came to an end, the chorus approaching, as everyone moved into their final positions. Grouping around Marinette, a pair of men lifted her to their shoulders, sitting her down, and getting into formation.

Moving like a well-oiled machine, they all acted like robots in perfect tandem with the music. Each mechanical move was necessary to get the maximum awe factor. Not one move was out of place, not one person in the routine was imperfect. Finally, as the final chords approached and everyone began to return to the cars they had arrived in, Marinette nodded at the men below her, and they smiled in response. She was tossed into the air before the men who had thrown her began to flee. 

For a moment, she felt like she was flying. She closed her eyes, taking in the moment, before spinning in the air and landing in a cliché superhero pose on her knees. She saw the artist returning to his van as she ran to the glass, grabbing two paint cans the redhead had left behind and using them to paint her signature. A red circle with five black dots in the corner of the back pane. Then she jumped into the van with the artist. Nino quickly zipped up his suitcase and jumped in the car with Alya as all the cars took off, leaving everyone to wonder where they came from as sirens were heard in the distance.

The glass in the center of the street left quite a scene. A couple cars, a few break dancers, the Eiffel Tower, several black butterflies, and two names.

‘Ladybug’ written above one of the dancers, painted just like Marinette had been dressed, her signature next to the figures feet, and in the middle, written in purple and black, _The Akuma’s_ , a name the everyone in Paris knew meant.

The street had been akumatized.


	2. The Aqua Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Which Adrien Arrives and Dances With Marinette In A Club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in this AU, the main characters are about 22/23, so they can legally get into a club/bar. Just making this clear. Basically, everyone is about 7-8 years older, so account for that, unless said otherwise.

Marinette slammed the door to her work locker closed as she watched Alya upload the video of their flash mob to YouTube on her tablet. They both stood in the locker room of an _Agreste_ hotel, some of the most prestigious hotels in the country. Attracting celebrities from around the world when they were in town, and sometimes even politicians and political leaders from other countries. Both of them, as well as Alix, a friend and fellow Akuma of theirs, were in their work outfits, black trousers, white dress shirts, and purple ties, with their hair pulled up in ponytails. They began laughing at some of the crazy faces Kim had made at the camera when they heard someone clear their throat in the entrance. Alya threw her tablet into her locker and slammed it shut, facing their supervisor, Natalie.

“You better get to work,” Natalie said in a very unenthusiastic voice. “New manager is here and she’s judging with a white glove” She exited the locker room with the three girls following close behind her on their way to the kitchen, because the girls were waitresses. They made their way to the orders they were filling in for when the last shift left. Over the stoves stood a TV, where the news was broadcasting the latest Akuma flash mob. 

“Today, the streets by the Trocadero were disturbed by flash mobbers, specifically a group by the name of _The Akuma’s_ ” The screen showed the glass panes with the paintings on them, a clip of their dance, then went to a rich looking man in his car with his wife or girlfriend, Marinette couldn’t tell.

“One minute, everything was fine,” the man said “The next, these kids filled the street and stopped traffic with their horrible music and dance!”

“Horrible!” Alya exclaimed, ready to punch the TV when Marinette stopped her

Another man came up on the screen, again in his car, but this time in very casual clothing “I really hope the police catch these people, and lock their *bleep* up!” The man said before driving off.

Then a girl came on the screen, and she seemed excited “We don’t know who you guys are, or how you do it, but we love you!” She said as people behind her cheered.

“Hey!”

The girls turned around to see a girl with blonde hair in a very professional suit standing at the other end of the kitchen looking at them, extremely unhappy. “I have a tube top who’s been waiting on her order for ten minutes!” She said, the veins on her forehead popping out.

“Tube top?” Marinette asked “I think that’s mine” The other woman was very un-amused “I’m Marinette. You must be Chloe, the new manager” Marinette held out her hand and Chloe just looked at it.

“I’m your boss” Chloe spit in a hushed voice “Not your BFF. You leave patrons waiting like that again, you’re fired” Chloe spun around, whipping her hair in Marinette’s face before walking off. Alya just grabbed Marinette’s shoulder, gave it a slight shake, and began walking.

“Don’t worry girl” Alya said “I’m still your BFF” With that said, they all got to work.

\--------------

Marinette was back in her street clothes, a pair of black shorts, tan wedges, black bikini top, and a loose pink tank top, her raven black hair let down, laughing with Alya and Alix at some of the different comments already left on their video. They closed their lockers and began to head to their after-work hang out spot, where some of the other members of their crew were waiting for them, when Marinette paused and pointed at a sign that read: **NO EMPLOYEES IN _LE CLUB DE L'EAU_**

“Hey, have you seen this sign?” Marinette asked.

Alya walked forward and ripped the sign off the wall, then gave Marinette a very innocent look. “What sign?” Marinette and Alix laughed, following Alya into the dark room filled with music and young adults dancing in very suggestive clothing.

\------------

Marinette smiled and watched as her crew relaxed on the dance floor, a very shallow layer of water splashing around at their feet. The wasn’t called _Le Club de L'eau_ for nothing. Just about everyone had droplets of water covering their clothing. She began to walk away from the masses to quench her thirst at the bar, where the bartender was flirting with some of the female customers. “Excuse me!” Marinette tried to yell over the music, extending her hand towards the bartender, who obviously wasn’t paying attention. “Excuse me! Could I get a beer over here?!” Suddenly, a man with side-swept blond hair sprung his head out from under the counter, a beer in his hand. “Hey, could I get one of those?” Marinette asked, pointing to the bottle in his hand.

“Uh, sure” he replied, unsure in what to do at the moment. He walked over to the beer cooler and pulled out another bottle.

“You must be new here” Marinette called out.

“What?”

“I said you must be new here!”

“Yeah” the blond popped off the top to Marinette’s beer and walked back over to her “You could say that”

“Well, I work here too, I’m a waitress” Marinette said with a smile

“Really?” 

“Unfortunately” Marinette gave a shrug

“Come on,” the blond said, leaning over the bar so he wouldn’t have to yell over the music “It can’t be that bad”

“The pay sucks, there are no benefits, and both superiors and clientele treat us like shit”

“Well, I know one good thing about working here”

“What’s that?”

“There is this one really adorable waitress I know”

“Really?” Marinette leaned over the bar, her face almost touching his “Where is she?” They both laughed at her shut down to his flirting.

“You know what,” the blond said, handing her the fresh beer in his hand “It’s on the house” Her blue eyes locked into his green as a new song began to play over the speakers, one of Marinette's favorites. She smiled as she took the beer from the man's hand, took a swig, then set it down and began to walk away. “Wait, where are you going?” He asked, running around the bar.

“To dance of course!” Marinette replied. The blond kept following her like a lost cat “What, do you dance too?” 

“Me? No” he said “Don’t you know how this works? I have a drink in my hand, you dance around me, making me look good” 

Mari laughed and grabbed his hand “Ok pretty boy, let’s go make you look good” He handed his beer off to another guy and followed her, a ridiculous grin plastered on his face. She pulled him to the center of the floor, looked at him while biting her lip for a second, then pulled out some of the most unappealing sexual dance moves she could think of. She saw the disgust in his face at how she moved to the music “Am I making you look good yet?”

“That was terrible” He said with a laugh “Is that the best you could do?”

“Not by a long shot” She backed away before running her hands through her head, rolling her hips in such a way that it began to gain attention. A couple guys stopped dancing and stared at her. She strutted forward towards the blond, ran her fingers through his hair and down his neck, before tuning and using him as an anchor to do the splits and pull herself back up. The crowd cheered and she heard Alya in the back yelling ‘Get ‘im girl!’ Her dance partner looked surprised.

“It’s your turn now” Marinette said, giving him the space of the floor. He backed up a bit “I promise not to laugh… a lot” He shrugged, turned to the people right and left of him, chanting for him to go for it, before lunging forward. 

He moved with such precision, though his moves seemed sporadic. He approached her, arms swinging, when he turned and began to push his head and chest down with his hand, popping and locking like a pro. He then spun on his knees, splashing water all around, and got up, spitting water out of his hand and away from Marinette’s face. Everyone in the crowd could see that this was a dance battle, and a very entertaining one for that matter. Marinette walked in his direction and he did the same.

The blond put his hands around her waist, letting her lean back and roll her body, before pulling her up, her face against his. A moment in slow motion. Then she pushed him away, turned her back to him and got on her knees, scooping up water and spreading it across her chest. She went to do it a second time when he grabbed her hands, and she flung them into the air, sending water flying, while wrapping her arms around the body behind her. 

She spun around and began backing away in a playful way on her knees, then sat up and flung more water into the air as he rushed into her and pulled her slim, wet body from the ground. They once again were face to face, and another moment in slow motion had started. His green eyes stood out even more up close, his wet hair clinging to his forehead. She felt something metal hit her neck, the chain to the showerhead above them. She looked straight into his eyes as she reached back and pulled on the chain, drenching them in water. 

Marinette began to looked around at the cheering crowd, when she noticed Chloe nearby, searching the crowd for someone. She broke away from her dance partner, using the crowd as a way to escape. “Hey! Where’re you going?!” Her partner cried. Alya pulled her to the side, hiding among other group members as they watched the blond search for her, but he couldn’t find her as he was soon surrounded by other dancers complimenting his moves. It was then that they decided it was a good time to leave the club.

Marinette was still stunned at the chemistry her and the mystery man had expressed on the dance floor, how they didn't need to know each other to be that in sync. As they all left the building, one question kept crossing Marinette’s mind.

What had she gotten herself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On Chapter 7 now, so should have another update ready and beta-read for you by Monday. See you then!


	3. Business As Usual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The normal, everyday lives of some of our favorite breakdancers.

The majority of Marinette’s dance group stood in the basement dance lounge of her father’s business, a small, but popular bakery on the south side of town, the area where most of _The Akuma’s_ lived. Marinette walked upstairs and grabbed some more food for them, and pulled out some money out of her pocket to pay her father for the food. “No, no, no!” Mr. Dupain said, pushing the money back towards Marinette “When’s the last time I made you and your crew pay for a single cookie?”

“Papa, you’ll never make a profit if you just keep giving us free treats!” Marinette protested, pushing the money back towards her father. 

“I won’t hear it!” Tom insisted, grabbing Marinette’s free hand and putting the money into it. “You just have to promise that anyone _but_ Kim will dance with your mother if she comes down tonight. His dance moves just scare her!”

“Merci, Papa!” Marinette gave him a small peck on the cheek and began walking to the basement door. “Oh, and there are a few newcomers to the lounge that are getting a little too friendly on the jukebox. Could you please take care of them?”

“I’ll be down in a bit, sweetheart”

\--------------------------

Everyone sat on the round couch in the corner with a table in the opening, their treats, and a few beers that were brought in by Nino, sat on it. Everyone was watching the video on Alya’s tablet, complementing each other and saying what each might have to fix before the next _Akuma Attack_ as the public called them. “Look at that!” Nino said, pointing at the view count “Less than twenty thousand hits in under five hours!”

“You think that’s cool!” Kim said, putting his hand on the artist’s shoulder “You should hear what Nathaniel has already got planned for the next _Attack_ !”

“I still don’t know how you know what he says if the poor boy never even talks!” Alya retorted jokingly, leaning back onto the couch

“You see, girl, it’s Jedi mind power” Kim said in an extremely dramatic voice “We connect on a much deeper level, you know, I know this guy. Mind to mind. Eye to eye”

“Yo, Mari” Alya said as Marinette sat on the arm of the couch, eating a chocolate chip cookie “We really need to think about this next _Attack_ , though! Generate more momentum, get more hits!”

“You kids and your contest again, huh?”

Tom walked over after throwing out the two lovers on the jukebox, carrying a large plate of croissants. He placed the plate on the table and continued “You know, when I was your age, I didn’t have the ‘YouTubes’ to rely on”

“Okay, first of all, it’s _You’Tube’_!” Alya corrected

“Check it out, Papa” Marinette said, handing the tablet to her father “The first page to get to ten million hits wins a hundred grand!”

Mr. Dupain looked at the tablet for a moment, then gave it back to his daughter “Even if you win that money, it’s not going to last forever”

“It’s not about the money though. It’s about getting our message out there, making a name for ourselves” Marinette grabbed a beer off of the table as her father left, took a sip, then listened to Nino speak.

“Yeah, Mari’s right! First we get the money” The group agreed “Then we get the power” Another agreement “The you know what comes next, don’t ya Alya” He wrapped his arm around the girl, and she took it right off

“So when is the next one?” Alay asked Marinette as the rest of the group laughed at Nino’s fail of a turn on.

Marinette laughed “Soon, but we won’t worry about that now. Tonight, we celebrate!”

\--------------------------

“I turn my back and whip my hair and just shake it off! I turn my back and whip my hair and just shake it off!” 

A small voice woke Marinette up, telling her that it was time to get up. “Just five more minutes, Manon” the adult groaned, burrowing her head into her pillow.

“Come on, Marinette!” Manon insisted “I whip my hair back and forth and just shake it off…” Marinette opened her eyes to see the young girl giving her the baby doll eyes, something Mari found it extremely hard to resist.

Marinette sat up with a moan. “Ok, hon,” she responded in a sleepy voice “Just one verse” She dipped her head down, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and snapped her head back up to look into the young child’s big eyes, a smirk on both of their faces. “I whip my hair back and forth, I whip my hair back and forth,” Marinette sang as Manon joined her, both of them whipping their hair up and down. 

Marinette began to shake her body as she stood up, Manon looking scared about what was happening. “Oh no!” Marinette said “Look what you’ve done! Once I start I just can’t stop!” She began waving her hands back and forth like a wave, then locked her fingers together and continued to wave her hands in front of her. “It’s called the _Ocean-Motion_ ” she explained, doing it slower for Manon to see what she was doing. “Now you try it”

Manon tried to copy what the bluenette was doing, but failed at getting the fluidity of Marinette’s movements. “Why don’t we try it together?” Marinette suggested, putting her arms over Manon’s, using her own movements to move the young girl's arms. “There we go!” She picked Manon up as laughter escaped the child’s throat.

\------------------

“Police are still trying to identify some of the members of _The Akuma’s_ through their video that was released yesterday shortly after their shutdown of ‘Avenue de New York’. The video however-” 

Sabine Cheng shut off the TV when she heard Marinette come out of her bedroom, dressed in her work clothes. “So, you see it?” Marinette asked her mom as she reached into the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice.

“What were you thinking?!” Sabine asked in a hushed yell so Manon wouldn’t hear them. 

“You saw it didn’t you?” Marinette asked. Sabine just turned her back to Marinette as she dished out her daughter's breakfast. “Aw, come on Maman, it was the best one yet!”

Manon looked up at her morning caretaker since her mom always had the night shift at the news company. “What’s Marinette talking about Mrs. Cheng?”

“Nothing, sweetheart. Why don’t you go brush your teeth? We’ll leave for the bus in five minutes” Mrs. Cheng gave the child a sweet smile, and Manon just shrugged and headed off to the bathroom without giving it a second thought. “You’re an idiot, you know that, right?” Mrs. Cheng’s sweet persona had fallen to one of worry and disappointment as she handed her daughter a plate of eggs and toast.

“Come on, Maman-”

“No! You were on the news last night and this morning. Again! What happens when you get caught, huh? What happens then?”

“We’re not gonna get busted!” Marinette insisted, sitting down to eat her breakfast “Once we win the contest, people are going to know who we are! What we stand for! Then, we can finally move out of this area, and somewhere safer for you and Papa!”

“This contest is a longshot, at best!” Mrs. Cheng pulled a piece of paper out of a stack on the counter. “This is from one of my friends at the pier” she said in a calmed voice “You start out at the bottom, but if you work hard and show initiative, they’ll even pay for your night school, and you can finally achieve your dream of being a fashion designer!”

“I’m not sure that a fashion designer is part of my dream anymore”

Mrs. Cheng sighed “My daughter, the professional flash mobber…” she looked at her watch “Come on Manon, or we’re going to be late” Manon came running out of the bathroom and took hold of Mrs. Cheng’s hand. “Well, you better if you want to win that contest, because right now you’re getting beat by a singing cat” She began to exit the house when Marinette smiled.

“See! I knew you watched it!”

\-------------------

“The reason I came back to _La Maison Jardin_ was to oversee the staff and make sure that everything is up to code, and up to my standards, seeing that this is the top hotel in Paris, recently surpassing Le Grand Paris. And that’s just beginning, because in the coming months, I plan to break ground on a new hotel and residential complex somewhere in Paris”

Marinette stood in the back of a group of employees, listening to a lecture from the owner of the company the hotel belonged to, Gabriel Agreste. The man was much more intimidating in person that he was in his commercials and photos. Marinette continued listening to his speech as she glanced back at the door to the conference room. _Where is Alya, she should have been here by now!_ Marinette thought as she turned her attention back to her boss. 

Mr. Agreste glanced over them all “If you work hard for me, I will be loyal to you” He ushered Chloe forwards. “Miss Bourgeois, for example, started working for me when she was still in business school. And now she's general manager of _La Maison Jardin_.”

They heard the door behind them jiggling, like someone was having trouble opening it “Come on, damn it!” The voice said on the other side of the door. The door then swung open and Alya walked in, pinning her nametag to her untucked shirt. She looked up and saw everyone staring at her, then began to jog to Marinette when Mr. Agreste stopped her.

“Young lady, the entire staff was asked to be her twenty minutes ago” Mr. Agreste said, disappointment on his face despite not knowing the girl.

“I’m sorry, man, my car broke down, and I had to walk a kilometer and-” Alya was stopped mid-explanation.

Mr. Agreste cut her off. “I would accept your apology, but you no longer work here” 

“Wait, what?!”

“Don’t bother staying. In this profession, punctuality is not an option. Our guests expects nothing but the best.”

“But I’ve worked here for over a year!”

Chloe gave Alya a threatening look “Do we need security to escort you out?” She asked

Alya looked at Marinette, back at the two top dogs of the hotel, then turned around and burst out the doors, cursing under her breath the entire way. “There is a flip side to my loyalty,” Mr. Agreste said, turning everyone’s attention back to him, “If you don't hold up your end of the deal, I don't owe you anything. Agreste customers expect excellence. I expect nothing less from you. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Agreste” Chloe said, stepping in front of them all 

“Time to get back to work!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long guys, some last minute changes to the text made me slightly uneasy and I wanted to get it just right. Working on Ch. 8 right now, so expect another update soon!!


	4. External Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien has daddy issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY!! We are now getting to say Adrien's name in the fic!! It only took 4 chapters!
> 
> Seriously though, we now get a glimpse at Adrien's family life.

“How could you say that?”

Adrien Agreste sat at a table on the roof of the hotel, where only exclusive guests were allowed to eat or swim in the nearby pool. He was being forced to eat breakfast with his father that morning after some meeting he had to attend.

“Because it goes against every instinct I have as a parent” Mr. Agreste stated.

“But I don’t understand why it does, father!”

“Look at it from my perspective” Mr. Agreste said in his usual, professional manner. “It’s like I’m rewarding you for dropping out of university”

Adrien leaned back in his chair. “I only went because you wanted me to go” he muttered, just loud enough for his father to hear him.

Adrien’s father sighed. “So this is about the what, the _Montpellier Danse_ thing?!”

“They are one of the best contemporary dance schools in the county! Maybe even the world!”

“Adrien, you know how I feel about this” Mr. Agreste said. Adrien began fiddling with the napkin in his lap as his father continued “How many people make it as a dancer? One out of a thousand, one out of ten thousand!”

Adrien just about flipped the table “Yeah. Yeah, that’s right”

“It’s one thing to dance as a boy to impress girls and make your mother happy, it’s another thing to try and make a career out of it!” Mr. Agreste was getting frustrated with having to repeat this conversation. 

“Is that all you think I did it for?!”

Marinette approached the table with two glasses of orange juice on her tray, gently placing them on the table with a smile plastered on her face as Adrien looked up at her. “Thank you, young lady” Mr. Agreste said “I’ll have the Eggs Benedict. Would you like some croissants Adrien?” His son gave no response, his eyes stuck on the girl that was serving them. The same girl who he had danced with the day before in the club. “A couple of croissants for the young man”

Marinette turned to leave, but her eyes locked into Adrien’s as they passed by. She was so flustered that her steps faltered, and she almost fell over, knocking down Adrien’s glass of juice, spilling it all over his legs and the floor. “Oh my God, I am so sorry!” Marinette spit out as she got down on the ground to clean up her mess. Adrien noticed the blush creeping up her face as she cleaned up the mess.

“It’s no problem” Adrien replied and she picked up the large pieces of the shattered glass off the ground and wiped up the majority of the orange juice with the towel she had handy.

“Adrien, most people would _kill_ for the offer that I am having to practically beg for you to take” Mr. Agreste continued as Adrien continued to watch Marinette “If you work hard, one day you could run the whole company! I just don’t understand your attitude…”

Marinette stood up and began to walk away “I’ll grab you another orange juice” she said, not looking at either of the men that were looking at her at that moment. Adrien watched as she left, the blush on her face deepening.

“Adrien? Adrien, I am talking to you!” Mr Agreste almost shouted at his absent-minded son.

“I heard you.”

Mr. Agreste sighed again. “Let’s agree to this. Either you are a professional dancer by the end of the summer, or you come home to Lyon to work for me.” Adrien shook his head at the realization that his father had called him to this breakfast to strike a deal with him “What happened Adrien? We used to see eye to eye on almost everything. Do you remember? Adrien and dad versus the world?”

“It was never you and I that saw eye to eye, father. I’m old enough to remember that.” Adrien got up to leave. “I just wish that you could want for me that same things I want for myself!” And at that moment, he left, as both Marinette and Mr. Agreste watched him.

\-----------------

_I’m sorry, I’m really a mess right now. Trying my best to get it together somehow._

Marinette danced on some wood pull-out flooring that was in one of the conference rooms, mirrors surrounding one side of the room, emptiness all around her. The song that was playing was reflecting the mix of emotions she was feeling at the moment. Worry, sadness, anger, a numbness in the midst of it all, and a feeling that she was alone in the world for some odd reason. The scene she had witnessed between Adrien Agreste and her father were coursing through her mind, watching Alya get fired that morning, alongside memories of the performance she did alongside Adrien the day before. Her hair followed her every movement, loose and free, her light shirt flowing in the breeze she was making with the speed of some of her movements, her shorts clinging to her body, and her bare feet barely registering the feeling of the floor beneath her. 

_Tell me where love goes when it’s gone. Tell me where hearts go when they move on._

The song ended and Marinette stood from the downward pose she had been in and turned towards the mirrors, seeing another figure in their reflection. She gasped and turned around, seeing Adrien standing only a few feet behind her. He threw his hands up to show he wasn’t a threat. “I’m sorry if I startled you.” He said, slowly backing away.

“No, you’re fine.” Marinette responded, calming down after her scare.

“What are you doing here?” Adrien stopped backing away and began approaching the small girl. 

“I come here after work to work on dance routines for a… competition group I’m in.”

“Well, I was just about to tour Paris and I heard the music, and then I saw your beautiful dance, and…” Marinette began blushing at his explanation “What’s your name?”

“Marinette.” She responded, her blush calming down as she reminded herself that he’s the same guy she had meet at the club the day before. “And, you’re Adrien Agreste.”

“Yeah, you remember me from yesterday, you know, at the club and everything…”

“I know, I remember. You’re not very easy to forget” Marinette began walking towards her bag by the mirrors.

“So you do remember! Because you didn’t seem like it when my father was around.”

She began pulling on a pair of joggers and red tennis shoes. “My main employer doesn’t need to know that I was dancing in a club with his son last night.” Adrien nodded and put his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little stressed at the moment.”

“It was beautiful by the way, your dance.”

Marinette smiled. “Thanks, it was okay, I bet you could do better.”

“No, I’d be a little too boring and simple.”

“For what?”

“An audition.”

Marinette lifted up her bag and placed the strap on her shoulder. “An audition for what?”

“ _Montpellier Danse_ ” Adrien replied casually as Marinette gaped.

“ _Montpellier Danse_?! That’s only one of the most prestigious dance companies in the country!”

“Which is why I think my routine planned is boring. Not as much passion as your dance had just now.”

“Then, can I make a suggestion?” Marinette asked.

“Go ahead.”

“Incorporate some of the moves you did in the club yesterday. That guy wasn’t boring.”

“I can’t just do that, there are rules!”

“Then break them.”

Adrien almost couldn’t believe that this sweet, talented, beautiful girl was telling him to break the rules. Out of instinct, as she walked away, he pulled her back and spun her into his arms. “Just like that?” Marinette pushed herself away from him and he laughed.

“What are you doing Friday night?” She asked.

“Why?” 

“Just trust me.”

“And why would I do that?”

Marinette pulled a pad of paper and a pen from her bag and wrote down an address. “Be here, at this address, Friday night, at eight,” she pulled the paper off of the pad and handed it to him.

“Thank you,” Adrien replied, “But it’s probably best that I work through this alone.”

A devilish thought crossed Marinette’s mind, and she knew what strings to pull “I get it,” she said, a smirk on her face, then pulled him down and whispered into his ear “Daddy might not approve.” She then let him go and began to walk away “And remember to wear something nice,” she added as she left the room, Adrien standing in the same spot, staring at the address on the paper. 

\-----------------

“What a day, huh girl” Alya said, both of them looking over the side of _Pont de Arts_.

“About earlier, I would have walked out with you girl, but, I mean...”

“Hey, no sweat Mari... then we’d both be out of a job...”

Marinette hated seeing her best friend like this. “Listen, do a few more flash mobs, get the hits, and we will win that money.”

Alya sighed “Yeah, okay girl, I trust you.”

“Good, because I think I have the next _Attack_ all figured out. Ready to go?”

“I thought you’d never ask!”

“Come on, let’s hit up _The Studio_ and see what everyone’s up to now.”

They began to walk back to their car “You think Kim and Ivan have burned down the building over one of their stupid dares yet?” Alya asked

“Let’s hope not! I don’t think my dad wants to have a bunch of adults in his basement during business hours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still working on Chapter 8!! Why? BECAUSE I AM TYING TO PUT A 8 MINUTE DANCE SCENE INTO A LANGUAGE MOST PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND!!
> 
> Sorry, this is just getting frustrating because, as a former dancer myself, I want to put in the actual names of the dance moves, but even my beta reader doesn't know half of them. AND SHE WAS A DANCER TOO!! 
> 
> The song, if you are wondering, is "Undone" by Reinhart. the dance is from Step Up 4 if you want to see what I had in mind for it, in case you got confused. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	5. The Gallery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Okay, for real, why are we here?” Adrien asked as they stopped in front of a painting. 
> 
> “I just thought you could use some inspiration” Marinette replied, looking from him to the paining. Adrien did the same, when a cascading waterfall noise came from the speakers, and the painting seemed to come to life, someone turning their head to look at Marinette, then turned their head back. It seemed to get everyone’s attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!

Everyone in _The Akuma’s_ was in the studio that they owned. Every member had to pay ten francs a month to help cover the cost of the office space aka _Akuma HQ_. In the day time, it played as a travel agency, only using the front quarter of the space, with Rose and Nathanael running it during the day, and business was pretty good. But after hours, in the back of the space, was a huge, soundproofed room, with more than enough space to practice routines and hang out. Marinette went through some of the routines that she had thought of earlier that day with the different groups, some of them they followed to the letter, some of them they suggested a different move here or there that would work better. Near the end of the day, Marinette called them all to the front of the room.

“Okay,” Marinette said “ _Avenue de New York_ was great at scoring us some serious hits on YouTube, but this next _Attack_ will be a bit more complicated. Alya has gone through _Galerie Laurent Godin_ and taken some pictures for where we will be dancing, and she’s handing out your assignments now”

“There are two main entrances and exits,” Alya said, handing out the packets “And a back door to an alley that leads to the streets”

“We will have the van waiting outside the back as our escape route” Marinette finished. “Now you may be wondering, ‘How are we going to get you in and out without being noticed?’ And my response is one word. Camouflage.” Nino walked out in front of the group in a gold full body suit, everyone laughing at him as he flexed his butt cheeks. “Now, there’s going to be security this time, under the supervision of director Sabrina Roger.”

“What about music?” Someone in the crowd asked

“Nino, actually, has gotten some new employment, as the ‘DJ’ of the gallery” Marinette replied “This is definitely going to get us some big hits, but either way, _The Akuma’s_ are going to put their own spin on ‘fine art’”

\-------------------------

Adrien walked into the audition room, where almost a hundred other people were warming up on the side lines, thankfully ignoring him for the most part.

His audition went fairly quick, about a minute into his routine they stopped the music, then he went back to the edges of the room to wait for them to announce the apprentices for the summer. 

“Ve vill now announce ze six students who vill apprentice with us over ze summer” said one of the directors, probably German. “At ze end of the summer, each student vill perform a piece of zeir own selection. From zere, ve vill choose one male, and one female, to join our senior group. And ze apprentices are: Aurore Boreale, Fred Haprèle, Vincent Asa, Lila Volpina, Mireille Caquet, and Adrien Agreste. Zank you all for auditioning”

Adrien was relieved that he had not already lost his side of the bet between he and his father. He grabbed his stuff and got ready to leave when one of the directors, Thomas Astruc, called him over.

“You technique is good, exquisite actually.” Astruc said as he drew on a piece of paper, a girl in a ladybug style suit, with a yoyo swinging around in her hand and hair in pigtails. He put down his pen and looked up at Adrien “Which doesn’t mean anything. Son, you need to get some originality and passion, and I suggest you find it soon. Otherwise you might become just as irrelevant as another blond dancer I knew…”

“Yes sir,” Adrien replied, reminding himself of the event Marinette invited him to that night. Maybe he would go to ask her for help, or maybe just to see her. He wasn’t sure why he was going yet, but he was sure that he was going.

\-----------------------

Adrien stepped out of a cab, all dressed up in a nice suit, and into an art gallery, at the exact address that Marinette had given him. He strolled through for a moment, looking at all the abstract art that was around him, when from behind, he heard a familiar voice.

“Glad you could make it”

He turned to see none other than Marinette. She was in a red dress with a V-neck, tie-back halter bodice, her A-line skirt reaching just above her knees, black lace on her waist line, and black heels on her feet. Her hair was up in a bun, and two red ribbons were hanging out of the bun in the back. A smirk was on her face as she approached

“So… what’s with all of this mystery?” Adrien asked, taking another glance around the room “Is it… some sort of cliche way you get guys to go out with you?”

Marinette smiled, and oh! how Adrien loved it when she smiled. “It’s not a date” she plainly said “I promise,” she looked at her watch and glanced around the room, almost as if she was looking for something. “Come on, we gotta get a move on. By the way, you look nice.”

Adrien held out his arm for her to loop her’s around it. She sighed and complied “It’s still not a date.”

Adrien nodded “You look beautiful.”

“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, pretty boy.”

\--------------------

Mylene, the camera girl from the street, stood against a wall, waiting for a cue. Nathanael passed by two security guards, smiling when he got past without being noticed. Sabrina Roger passed by Nino, nodding in approval with his choice of music for the venue, then after she passed, Nino prepared his own little surprise. Mylene held up a brochure with a camera hidden on the outside of it.

“Okay, for real, why are we here?” Adrien asked as they stopped in front of a painting. 

“I just thought you could use some inspiration,” Marinette replied, looking from him to the paining. Adrien did the same, when a cascading waterfall noise came from the speakers, and the painting seemed to come to life, someone turning their head to look at Marinette, then turned their head back. It seemed to get everyone’s attention. 

The woman that was blending in with the painting then extended her leg up, holding it in a heel stretch. She then let her leg down, leaned back, and seemingly rolled off of the painting. Everyone stepped back, giving her room. Marinette slipped a piece of paper into Adrien’s hand, then took off without another sound to another room, Adrien too engrossed in the dance the girl was doing to notice. 

Then, screams were heard from another room as Adrien pushed himself to the front of that crowd, a man, also dressed like a painting, moving like a robot to the beat of the music. The girl continued her dance, and so did the man. Screams were then heard from another room, and Adrien rushed to see what was dancing now. 

One statue out of a pair came to life, his quick moves flowing with the music. Then another came to life, joining him in his flexibility-show-off dance. Sabrina was standing in the crowd, watching, when she looked at her assistant, who was dancing along with the music, gave her a disapproving look, then returned her gaze to the dancers. And suddenly, the lights went dark.

Adrien saw lights coming from another room and headed that way, seeing structures that looked like jellyfish in the middle of the ocean. Other people began to join him in the room as five ballerinas emerged from the structures, in glowing costumes! Adrien knew that he had never seen anything like this. 

The ballerina's got into a line and began dancing in tandem, doing a waterfall effect with their moves, turning, and then doing the same thing on the other side. Two security guards attempted to end the dance, before they were stopped by Sabrina. The dancers then began to do a more contemporary dance, flexing feet and doing quick, popping moves. 

Adrien needed to know if there was more dancing going on, because he had not seen Marinette yet. He stepped into a room showing wavelengths, where a bunch of hip-hop dancers were dancing in tandem, the lights from the projector showing off their moves. Marinette was leading the pack, red paint covering the top half of her face, a playful smirk formed by her lips as she looked at Adrien while dancing. 

Kim and a group of dancers were in the background, dancing with extending balls. Adrien didn’t think he had ever saw any sort of dance form like this, every style working in tandem to create something beautiful, it was inspiring! 

Nathanael stood out in the hallway, writing something on a tablet, and _The Akuma’s_ was written outside on the building by yet another projector. Adrien stood in front of the projector as all the dancers fell to the ground, and Marinette stood right in front of him, gazing into his eyes for a moment, then ran off into the darkness, the other dancers following her. 

Adrien basically ran to the front door, just in time to see an old brown van race off into the streets. He turned around and saw the calling card of _The Akuma’s_ left on the side of the building.

He squeezed his hand in disappointment of not complimenting her when he had the chance not even a minute ago, and felt something crumble in his grasp. He opened his fist, seeing a piece of paper. He opened it to find a note. 

_SOMETIMES IT’S GOOD TO BREAK THE RULES - M_

The infamous Ladybug symbol was on the corner of the page, and Adrien knew what he needed to do to get the inspiration he so desperately required.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY got Ch. 8 done! The rest should be a piece of cake (if I had time to eat cake...)


	6. Adrien Joins The Akuma's

Adrien had been up almost all night researching everything he could find about Ladybug and _The Akuma’s_. He found a link to their YouTube page and watched all of the _Akuma Attacks_ that they had filmed. Marinette was an awesome leader, getting all of those people to dance like they were in the videos. 

The news was covered in news about _The Akuma’s_ latest flash mob the next morning as Adrien entered the hotel kitchen, where he knew Marinette would be working that morning. He saw Marinette preparing to serve someone’s breakfast, but this couldn’t wait. “You not get the memo?” Marinette asked before he could say anything. “Patrons aren’t supposed to mingle with the help.”

“I want in,” Adrien said plainly, following her through the kitchen.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“I want to join _The Akuma’s_.” 

Marinette paused where she was, glanced around the room, then left her tray on an empty counter. She grabbed Adrien’s hand and lead him through the kitchen to the storage room before even looking at him.

“You can’t talk about that here, okay!” She said “Maybe I can help you with your routine, but _The Akuma’s_...” She shook her head “That’s not for a pretty, rich boy like you”

“That’s not good enough!” Adrien insisted.

“What we do is dangerous. If you get thrown in jail, I bet your dad is going to get real pissed.”

“You were the one who told me that I needed to break the rules!”

“There is just too much at stake at the moment. We are trying to win a contest,” Marinette attempted to walk away, but was stopped by Adrien.

“What contest?” He asked.

“ _YouTube_ is giving a hundred grand to the first page to ten million hits.”

“Then adding another dancer can only help you!”

Natalie rounded the corner, seeing Adrien and Marinette talking to each other. “Marinette! Your tables are looking for you!” She said, not wanting to get fired for not keeping her waiters under control.

“I’ll be there in a minute!” Marinette responded “I gotta go!” She said to Adrien.

“Look, I need to get into _Montpellier Danse_ , and the only way I’m going to be able to do that is by taking risks, and changing the way I dance” 

Marinette sighed. “The rest of the group is _not_ going to go for it. Especially if they find out who you are”

Adrien gave a devilish smile “Who says they have to know?”

\--------------------

Adrien and Marinette entered the Studio, stopping in one of the front rooms where Alya, Nino, and Kim stood, listening to one of Nino’s new tracks. “Well, who do we have here?” Alya asked.

“Adrien, I want to introduce you to Alya, co-founder of _The Akuma’s_ , and my best friend” Marinette said

“Nice to meet you” Alya said, shaking his hand, before turning to Marinette “So what’s Prince Charming doing here?”

“He’s going to join our next mission.” Alya gave her a look that said ‘seriously?’ “Come on girl, I got him up to speed about the contest, and how things go down here. He can really help us!”

“Marinette, can I talk to you for a second?” Alya asked, leading Marinette away from Adrien and into a separate room. “Girl, what the hell is this?”

“He’s an incredible dancer”

“So what?! Just like that he’s in our circle?! How do I know I can trust him?”

“Because I vouched for him” Marinette wished that Alya could be a little more trusting at times. 

“No, we can only trust the people that we have!”

“What’s the problem here?” Nino asked, entering the room, “We’ve been saying that we need another male dancer to really go off and hit choreography.” 

“I mean, it’s worth a shot, right?” Kim asked, backing up Marinette. “I mean, if he’s actually good…”

Kim pushed Alya towards Adrien. “Can you get him ready for the next _Attack_?” Alya asked with a sigh.

Marinette looked at Adrien. “Yeah, I think so”

“Good, because he’s running lead male.”

“L-lead male?!” Adrien stuttered as Alya walked off. Were they trying to destroy him already?! People rushed in to congratulate him on making it into the group when Marinette pulled him into the back room. 

“Let me introduce you to the crew” she said, pointing at people in the room “I’m lead choreographer, making just about all of the dances that we perform. 

“Alya is our resident hacker, anything electronic is game for her. She’s our eyes and ears. 

“Nino is the hottest DJ on the South Side, making all of the crazy tracks for our _Attacks_. He sets everything in motion. 

“Max just got back from America, where he was a part of a crew called _The Mob_. Need anything in terms of effects, he’s our boy.

“Nathanael is a world-renowned street artist. No one, I mean, no one, has ever heard him speak! You know, the ‘pictures worth a thousand words’ mentality. 

“Mylene was hot in the _Tour de France_ scene. She wanted to film something next level, so we gave her something. 

“Kim and Alix are part of our ‘parkour’ group, meaning they handle all of our stunts. The rest of our crew, their from all over the world, dancing just about any style there is. And this is where we put it all together, the Batcave for _The Akuma’s_. We wake people up out of their daily lives Adrien, hit them where they least expect it, and when they least expect it. 

“Because when _The Akuma’s_ speak, everyone listens.”

\-----------------------------

Adrien led Marinette into a crowded, five-star restaurant, where about half of the patrons were _Akuma_ dancers in disguise. Adrien let Marinette sit down before Alya talked to him. “You know, it’s not too late to back out.”

“No, we’re good” Marinette said, looking at Adrien “We are good, right?” Adrien nodded as he went to the other side of the table. Nino sat at one end of the restaurant, his speakers out, Marinette took off the coat she had been wearing, revealing a sleeveless red and black dress, like the one that she wore at the art gallery, but also different. Her hair was curled and it had deep red accents in it. Nino hacked the sound system that had been playing violin music up until that point as every ‘Akuma’ took plates off of their table and put pink masks on their faces, except Marinette, who had a red one, and Adrien, who had a black one with cat ears on it (he had been very persistent in going as a mobber called ‘Chat Noir’ for some reason). The music ended as Marinette pushed out her chair and stood up. She used the chair to get up on the table, her black heels echoing throughout the restaurant as everyone turned to see what was going on. She walked into the middle of the table and stood still.

_Boom._

The music had started, and Marinette began to dance, her moves reflecting the mood of the song. Masked men circled around her, then began to fade away with every move she made. They pulled away the chairs as Adrien crawled onto the table, Marinete then lying on her back. She slipped her feet out of her shoes and placed one of her legs across his shoulders, then pushed him back into his seat. Rolling across the table, she once again sat across from Adrien, then wrapped her other leg around his neck. She sat on his lap while other pairs danced around them, letting the music move through her in a way Adrien never thought was possible, and all too soon, three men lifted her up and away from him. 

Marinette pushed them away as Adrien got up on the table across from the one she was on. She strutted towards him, men lining up across the opening between tables. She jumped up and spun in the air, being caught by the group of men, the lifted into the air as she rolled off of their arms and basically cartwheeled onto Adrien’s table, where he grabbed her hands and she lifted one of her legs and leaned away from him while smiling. They switched places as she held onto his waist, then she kicked the back of his knee and he skidded off the table, everyone in the audience laughing. At the same time, Nathanael came out of the kitchen with a pile of clean forks and spoons and got to work.

The men lined up and with the help of Kim and Adrien, Marinette walked across their hands back onto the center table. She had one of the men grab hold of her waist as she rolled around, leaning off of the side of the table, running her hand through her hair. She was pushed back up onto the table and into the the lap of a seated man, the chair pulled across the table as her legs came in and out. She then stood up and pushed that man away with one of her feet, other men carrying him away while he was still sitting in the chair. All of the dancers came out into the center of the room, Adrien getting up on the table next to Marinette. They all moved their bodies in the same way, the final chorus hitting. 

They all moved in tandem, Marinette and Adrien deviating from the rest of the group only slightly. Finally, as the final words hit, Marinette spun into Adrien’s arms like they did when they were in the dance hall at the hotel, then she pushed him with her hips away, fell backward as Adrien caught her, and brought her back up to his level. “How’s that for inspiration?” Marinette asked as the crowd began to cheer.

“Unreal,” Adrien replied as they all began to flee the scene before the cops arrived. Nathanael left a sculpture of silverware saying _The Akuma’s_ on the center table, Marinette stamping a Ladybug symbol onto the tray the silverware was on with her heel, and Adrien doing the same, but leaving a paw print next to her Ladybug. That’s when the internet blew up with this new pair of dancers that seemed to have happened overnight.

Ladybug and Chat Noir.


	7. The Notice

Marinette and her crew were once again in her father’s dance lounge, only this time, Adrien sat at the edge of their booth and watched as Marinette danced with her mother. Someone else put a coin in the jukebox and salsa music began to play. Adrien got up and came up behind Marinette, grabbing ahold of her hands “Mind if I cut in?” He asked Mrs. Cheng.

“Go right ahead,” Mrs. Cheng replied, going to dance with her husband. 

“Can you salsa?” Adrien asked Marinette as he turned her around to face him. 

“I don’t know, can I?” Marinette replied as she began cha-chaing. 

“Alright, let’s see if you can keep up.”

Adrien and Marinette soon had a circle formed around them as they cha-chaed, mirroring each other. Adrien took Marinette’s hand and spun her around once, let her out, then spun her around again. Alya sat at the booth watching Marinette, never seeing her best friend have more fun in her life. Adrien drew Marinette in close, letting her lean back in his hold, her hair almost brushing the floor, then she came back up and shook her hips, her breath on his neck. She walked back, then, while still holding his hands, grabel walked forward, before dropping down and letting one of her legs slide between his own before returning to her original, upright position. 

“Show off,” Adrien said, before swinging her into his arms, then around his body. Then Marinette rolled off of his back, did several spins, and landed back in his hold, their noses almost touching as the song ended. 

“Who’s the show off now?” Marinette asked as everyone around them cheered for the pair. Adrien put his arm around her shoulder as she led him back to the round booth, where Alya had a straight face on. “Come on, Alya, you gotta give it up.” 

Alya stood up and got in Adrien’s face before smiling. “You did good man, you did good!” Every Akuma cheered before returning to their dancing. Marinette lead Adrien outside, where they walked alongside the river. 

“I like it here,” Adrien said as they walked past wooden crates and shipping containers.

“It’s not exactly five-star…” Marinette replied.

“No, it’s better. You’re lucky!”

“Lucky? That’s a new one.”

“I wish I grew up in a place like this,” Adrien explained “I grew up in hotels. All different, but all exactly the same. Clean, sterile, temporary… People actually live here though! It’s great!” Marinette gave a slight giggle. “It really is!”

“Do you… want to see more of it?” Marinette asked, gesturing to the edge of the river, where a small motorboat sat.

“This is yours?” Adrien asked, and she nodded. He shrugged and jumped down into the boat, then turned around and held his hand up to help her down. 

Marinette smiled and shook her head. “You are _such_ a hopeless romantic. You know that, right?” She grabbed his hand and he helped her down into the boat as they both laughed. Marinette made her way to the controls, where she started the boat and they took off, riding down the river. They began talking about anything, everything, trying to get to know each other better.

“So when did you start _The Akuma’s_?” Adrien eventually asked

“It was actually Alya that came up with the idea of doing _Attacks_ ,” Marinette replied,

“And how long have you known her?” 

“Feels like all my life, though it’s probably been since we were about 14. We went to the same school together, and when my father opened the dance lounge downstairs, she began to come over more regularly. We basically became sisters, jamming out on the dance floor while our folks talked together,” Marinette shut off the motor and walked around to sit next to Adrien. “Then… her dad took off, her mom found a new man, and it’s basically been her and I against the world ever since.” 

Marinette kept her gaze away from Adrien, hoping her wouldn’t notice he hurt for her friend in her eyes. “That’s what it was like for me too,” Adrien replied. “Me and my dad after my mom split. At first we were inseparable, but then I got my own ideas on what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be, and he’s had a really hard time accepting that.”

“You should be able do what you want to do,” Marinette replied, looking towards him.

“It’s not that simple…”

“Well, why not?”

Adrien looked Marinette in the eyes “Because, I’m not like you, Marinette, no matter how much I wish I could be! I can’t do whatever I want to do! There are rules I have to follow, and a status that I’m forced to uphold!”

“Wishing you could be like me?” Marinette asked. “You have to understand, people like Alya and I, we’re invisible in this city. I guess, that’s the reason we started doing _Akuma Attacks_. It’s our way of saying ‘Listen up! We’re still here, and this city is ours too’. Does that sound lame?”

“No,” Adrien replied “Not at all.” They looked at each other for a moment in silence, then Adrien leaned down, and kissed her soft lips. He pulled away after a moment, wondering if she had even wanted that, but then she leaned forward and returned the kiss. They sat kissing for a few moments, before pulling away from each other. Marinette laid her head on Adrien’s shoulder, and they just sat there in a comfortable silence.

\-----------------

The sound of a barge horn awoke the pair, realizing that they had fallen asleep on the boat with Marinette still on top of Adrien. Crew members on the boat waved at the duo, and they smiled and waved back. Marinette got up and walked to the controls, driving them back to her father's bakery. 

\-----------------

“Hey, Papa!”

The pair walked in to see the major players of _The Akuma’s_ around Marinette’s father and mother, her father holding up a single sheet of paper with his hand to his head, he mother almost in tears. “Papa, what is it?” Marinette asked.

“Ever hear of _Agreste Global Properties_?” Tom asked his daughter

“Of course I have,” Marinette replied “I work at one of their hotels, you know this.”

“This Agreste guy is building some sort of ‘development’, a luxury hotel, shopping malls… He’s buying the whole strip on this side of the river. Our home, our bakery, the shop where Alya’s sisters work, all gone. Like they never existed.”

“Can you believe it?!” Alya asked, balling her hands into fists “It’s that same asshole who fired me! This guy can’t come in here and take everything we have!”

Marinette walked over to her father. “Let me see that” she said as she took the paper from his hands, giving it a quick go over. “Can’t you fight back against this?”

“It’s not my choice honey, we’re like everyone else around here. We rent.” Tom stood up “A lot of people have been making a living off of this strip, and now everything is going to be wiped out” As he left the room, Marinette kept staring at the eviction notice that was on the paper. Adrien balled his hands into fists and walked out of the bakery.

“Adrien?” Marinette watched as he left, setting down the paper and running after him. “Adrien, where are you going?” She asked when they were outside.

“To talk to my father,” Adrien replied, determination in his eyes.

“Will it help?” 

“I don’t know, but I have to try!” Adrien stopped walking and faced Marinette “We have to tell everyone in there who I am Marinette, who my dad is. They deserve at least that much.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Alya almost lost in in there, and my dad, I’ve never seen him act like that, so much hate for one person. I think telling them right now might make things worse.”

“Well then, what can we do?” It took Marinette awhile to answer that question.

“I don’t know...”


	8. Time For Revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Think about it! Instead of getting hits, we could be making a statement!” Marinette was ready to back Adrien up with as much support as he needed.
> 
> Alya took a long, deep breath “Alright, I’m listening. What’s the plan?”
> 
> “Well,” Adrien pulled a tie from his back pocket, and Marinette pulled a fedora from the purse she had been carrying, both throwing their items in front of Alya “First, we’re going to need some more dancers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it took me over 6 months to get this out!!! I had this chapter done in July, but I lost inspiration for a while and almost forgot about this story until about a week ago. I also just updated all of the chapters, so it looks MUCH cleaner. For those of you who still follow this story, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING PATIENT WITH ME!! I am almost done with Chapter 9, and I should be finishing the writing sometime in the next month.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Do you at least want to tell me where you were last night?”

Adrien sat at a table on the roof of his father’s hotel, eating breakfast with none other than the over controlling Gabriel Agreste. When Adrien wasn’t in his room at eight that morning, Gabriel almost called the police when his son came into his hotel room, smelling of sweat and cheap pastries. 

“I was out with a friend,” Adrien replied, not daring to look at his father.

“Oh, so you spent the night with a girl,” Mr. Agreste said bluntly “I hope for your reputation's sake that you were wearing protection.”

“Nothing like that happened!” Adrien said, looking at his father for a moment, then taking a deep breath before asking the question he had been dreading all morning. “Are you planning to build along the river in _The Latin Quarter_?”

Gabriel leaned back in his chair. “I might be. Why does this concern you?”

“My friend, Marinette, lives there.”

“Oh, so not only did you sleep with someone last night, but you slept with someone in a slum!”

“It. Is not. A slum!” 

“Adrien-”

“Father!” Adrien cut in “I wish you could just see it! The same families have lived there for decades! That’s all they know!”

“Every time I build, something else gets knocked down. Someone’s home, a business, it’s just the price of progress. Besides, this is a done deal.”

“What do you mean ‘a done deal’?” Adrien asked, beginning to get up from his seat

“Chloe is meeting with the city council on Thursday, and after they give the go ahead, which should be no problem considering her father is the mayor, we break ground at the end of the month.”

“Please,” Adrien begged “Don’t do this.”

“Let’s make a deal,” Mr. Agreste said as he stood up and grabbed his briefcase, “I don’t tell you how to dance, and you don’t tell me how to run my company.”

\--------------------

Adrien stood in the middle of a dance rehearsal, two beats behind the rest of the company in the routine, his mind elsewhere. “Take five everybody” he heard Astruc say as the music stopped. The dance director approached Adrien. “Adrien… where are you?” He asked.

“I’m here,” Adrien replied, “I’m just-”

“You’re not here. I am watching you - and it’s like you’re being flung around this studio - like a leaf” Astruc then leaned in and whispered into the boy’s ear “Take control, Chat Noir” Then he yelled to the rest of the company “Alright, let’s take it from the top!”

Adrien just watched as Astruc returned to his chair, stunned at what he just called him. He knew? Astruc knew who he was? That didn’t matter anymore though, because an idea popped into Adrien’s head. The music started again, and Adrien’s mind was more in tune, knowing what he had to do to save Marinette’s home.

\------------------

Adrien and Marinette approached Nino and Alya in the dance lounge. “Where have you been?” Alya asked the pair

Marinette and Adrien nodded at each other “Adrien’s got an idea for the next _Attack_ ” Marinette said.

Alya sat back in her chair and shook her head “Look girl, I really don’t need Prince Charming here coming in and messing with the program right now. _We_ need to work on the next one, and we’ve already got over four million hits. We don’t need him, especially-”

“So you got a lot of hits,” Adrien cut in, catching Alya’s attention, “Great. Maybe you’ll win this thing, and maybe you’ll win that money, but that’s not going to change anything! I mean, you have four million people listening, but you’re not saying anything that actually matters! It’s not okay to make art for fun anymore, and it’s not okay to make pointless trouble either.”

“What are you proposing?” Nino asked, invested in this speech.

“I’m saying… enough of performance art! It’s time for protest art!” Everyone was silent. “ _Agreste Global Properties_ is presenting the project to the city council next week. They have to have the council's approval to move forward, so I think we should join their little get together.”

“So, you mean to say we’re going to _Attack_ the meeting?” Nino asked. Adrien nodded. “Sweet!”

“I’m down” Kim said, others agreeing with him.

“And just how do you know all this?” Alya asked, skeptical as ever.

“City council meetings are public record.” Adrien replied, a little bit nervous of revealing his identity. “Oh! And there is this space-age technology thing called the ‘Internet’ now” Alya was still unsure.

“Think about it! Instead of getting hits, we could be making a statement!” Marinette was ready to back Adrien up with as much support as he needed.

Alya took a long, deep breath “Alright, I’m listening. What’s the plan?”

“Well,” Adrien pulled a tie from his back pocket, and Marinette pulled a fedora from the purse she had been carrying, both throwing their items in front of Alya “First, we’re going to need some more dancers.”

\--------------------

“Alright everyone, if you could just please take your seats, we can get started.”

Chloe was sitting everyone on the council down around a scale model full of tall buildings and white signs. “Council, this is Xavier Ramier. He is part of _Ramier & Barbeau_, one of the largest marketing firms in France.” 

Alya walked right outside the door of the meeting, dressed in a pant suit and holding a fedora. She stopped by the lever for the fire alarm, making sure no one was watching. She pulled the lever, put on her hat, and walked away.

The alarm went off, interrupting Chloe mid sentence. “Ok, folks, we should really evacuate, just incase this is not a drill.” On their way to the exit, Chloe was repeatedly apologizing for the inconvenience of the matter. 

Meanwhile, different members of _The Akuma’s_ were stopping in the middle of the floor on the bottom level, all wearing hats, suits with pink ties, and carrying briefcases, causing everyone to wonder what was going on. The escalator was cleared, and fairly soon the music began. A line of men started to come down the moving steps, lead by a blond with cat ears on his hat, and a woman in a red hat in the center of the floor. 

Adrien led the dance. As he and the group of men on the escalator began traveling down, they danced in a way that every other person was the same, with half of them doing the step in one direction, the other half doing the opposite direction. They moved like robots, stiffly adjusting their ties, jackets, and then removing their hats, only to put it right back on. Eventually, they reached the bottom, and everyone moved into new positions. Some went to the cafe tables on one side of the room, some went to the center of the floor. 

Alya stood in front and center, the focus of everyone’s attention. She began to move like a robot as well, her moves quick and stiff. She mostly moved her arms, occasionally turning her body, before adjusting her tie and walking to the sidelines. 

Alex sat at one of the coffee tables, messing with a newspaper and an empty cup of coffee as Kim came to join her. Every table around them was the same. Alex passed the cup to Kim as she continued to mess with the newspaper, acting like she was reading it, as Kim acted like he was downing the coffee. Then they got up and walked off with everyone else.

Max then came through the center of a group, on a smartphone, before acting as if a sharp ringing had just gone through, quickly moving his head from his hand, then bringing it back to look at the screen. Mayor Bourgeois approached his daughter in the crowd. “What’s going on here Chloe?” he asked as the dancing in front of them continued. The dancing group began to surround Max, circling around him, when they all suddenly fell to the ground.

Max stood very still, everyone around him on the ground. He moved his arms up and down, as paper money began to fall to the floor from above. People gasped as they tried to grab the falling currency. Two men got up and flipped over several of the fallen dancers. Then, everyone got up and into a new formation, one that made them look like and army.

The music changed from a calm tune, to one of angry origins. 

The dancers began to march, bringing their hands to their chests every time. Alya, Adrien, and Marinette lead the group. They all acted as if they were robots, dancing in tandem, switching rows, waterfall effects. Several people were even filming. Meanwhile outside, Nathanael began to assemble large pieces of metal, sanding them down, making sure everything was in the right place. 

Soon, all of the dancers were laying on their back on the floor, before continuing the dance. They used their arms at first, then sat up, leaning over one row at a time. Slowly, they got up, performed a few more moves together, then paused, before turning to their neighbor, complimenting their outfit, then running off in different directions. 

Everyone of the bystanders began to move outside, where a huge metal man stood, wearing a dollar sign necklace, a fedora, and held out a briefcase. Everyone stared at it for a moment, before the briefcase sung open, dropping currency, and the inside said **WE ARE NOT 4 SALE** , a Ladybug and Chat Noir symbol in the corners of the briefcase. “Should we be worried about this group?” Mayor Bourgeois asked his daughter. 

“Of course not” Chloe replied “They're just a bunch of kids!”

“A bunch of kids did that?” Mr Ramier asked.

Chloe just shrugged “Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW, thanks to my BFF CelestialYuuri for reminding me about this story! If you guys like Yuri!!! On Ice, or want to read another Miraculous fanfiction, go check this chick out! https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialYuuri
> 
> I will (hopefully) Update soon!


	9. The Dance That Changed It All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mylene began to pull out her phone. “Maybe we should call Marinette and get to the bottom of this, learn her reasoning for keeping this a secret.”
> 
> “No.” Alya stated.
> 
> “No?” everyone said unanimously, looking at each other.
> 
> “No.” Alya said again, holding up a gas mask “I've got a better idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, Chapter 9!!!

The news was blowing up over _The Akuma’s_ latest _Attack_. Reporters asking the opinions of Parisians, trying to milk as much of this story as they could get. Networks even began to offer a reward for the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir. People theorized that they were just kids wanting to get attention, or rich folk with too much time on their hands. Marinette's entire crew watched a TV screen closely.

“All indications are that the video of their performance is quickly going viral,” the reporter on the screen said “Turning these local art vigilantes into something of a cultural phenomenon. And when asked what the outcome would be if the Agreste proposal were voted for today, The council replied, saying ’We would reject the project.’”

 _The Akuma’s_ screamed in delight! If they kept this up, before too long, they would be able to keep living in their homes! Everyone began to dance around and sip beers. Alya sat at a booth, looking at her tablet with wide eyes. Marinette and Adrien approached.

“Alya, what is it?” Marinette asked

“We… we just got two million views in less than a few hours…”

Marinette almost forgot how to breathe “That means... we’re up to six million hits!”

\----------------------------------------

Adrien and Marinette practiced for Adrien’s fast-approaching audition alongside the river behind Marinette’s house. The slow, emotional dance proved that they both had feelings for each other. With every wave of the hand, or stretching of the leg, their passion grew. They both new that this was meant to be.

\----------------------------------------

Adrien was in the middle of practice, with a new reason to push himself for the spot on the senior team, because that meant that he would have to stay in Paris, and he could remain with Marinette. Astruc watched Adrien’s form, seeing a new sparkle in the young man’s eyes.

“Good, Adrien” Astruc complemented, before continuing his examination of the group as a whole.

\----------------------------------------

The rain was pouring down outside, but Adrien and Marinette were nice and warm in _The Studio_. They had just gone over his audition for the fifth time, fixing the flaws in their duet. Adrien kept trying to fix something that didn’t need to be fixed, but Marinette thought it was cute. 

“You’re going to be fine, Adrien!” She said, for what seemed like the millionth time. “They’d have to be crazy not to accept you with the piece you’ve arranged.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten this far without your help” he replied.

“Has your father spoken about the council meeting?” 

“No, but I can tell it worked. He’s been really on edge since.” Adrien giggled a little. “He’d freak out if he knew I was involved.”

“You don’t feel bad about sabotaging your own father’s development?”

“How else are we supposed to stop my big, horrible, greedy father from destroying your beautiful neighborhood?” he asked, picking Marinette up and placing her on his hips. “No, I do feel guilty. But as much as I love my father, there's a thousand other places my dad could stick some nauseating luxury hotel. He'll be fine. Trust me.” He set Marinette back down.

“How are things between you guys?” 

“He has some big gala he's making me go to. And Chloe asked me to be her date.” Adrien acted all excited, though Marinette could tell he was faking it “She thinks it’s a way to get closer to my dad. Of course I said no. But, I just wish you could go.”

“I'm sure I'll be there.” Marinette replied “Of course, I'll be on the other side of the table with a drink tray. Do you want to run the dance a few more times?”

“I don’t know…” Adrien replied with a devilish grin.

“One more time maybe? I have to go to work soon.”

“There’s something else a lot more fun we could be doing with that time…” Adrien made a grab for Marinette’s sides, just barely missing as the later dodged him.

“Adrien, don’t you dare! Adrien! No!” Marinette broke out into laughter as Adrien began to chase her throughout the studio. “I swear to God, you really are a cat!”

All the while, neither of them noticed the camera hiding in the corner of the room that was recording them.

\----------------------------------------

Adrien sat on his bed, typing away on his computer when he heard a knock at the door. “Come in” he said, closing the computer and setting it aside. His father walked in and stood beside the bed. 

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for the gala?” Mr. Agreste asked.

“I was just about to, father” Adrien replied, getting up and making his way to the closet.

“How long is it until your audition?”

“Just a couple days.”

“I hope you haven’t forgotten about our agreement.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “No, of course not father. It’s hard to forget about it when you constantly remind me.”

“I also hope you know I am doing this out of love. I just want you to be successful and happy in life”

 _You sure have a funny way of showing it._ “Thanks, father.”

Mr. Agreste straightened his collar. “Well, I will see you downstairs in an hour.” He then swiftly left the room, giving Adrien a moment to breathe.

\---------------------------------------

Alya sat at a computer in the Studio, watching a video and doing some research. Nino, Kim, Nathanael, Max, and Mylene walked into the studio together, confused on why they were asked to be here on such short notice. Alya said that it was about the group and that they needed to see this. 

“Man, this better be important.” Nino whined “I was playing that new _Call of Duty_ game and kicking some ass!”

“How was your date with Alex?” Max asked Kim.

Kim got annoyed. “I was just about to make the moves on her when I got the call. She got pissed when she heard she wasn’t invited.”

The group walked up to Alya, who kept typing away on her computer. “What up, Alya?” Mylene asked. “What did you want to show us?”

Everyone looked around the room and noticed a key member of the group missing. “Where's Marinette?” Nino asked.

Alya turned the monitor of the computer around. “Here, take a look.” she said, pressing space and playing a video of Marinette and Adrien dancing around the studio. “I found their rehearsal footage.”

“He would freak out if he knew I was involved.” Adrien said, pulling Marinette onto his hips.

“You don't feel bad sabotaging your dad's development?” Marinette asked.

“How else are we supposed to stop my big, horrible, greedy father from destroying your beautiful neighborhood?” Adrien replied as Alya stopped the video.

“I looked him up.” Alya said. “Adrien Agreste. He's Agreste’s son.”

Everyone looked astonished that their leader would keep such a big piece of information from them. “That's crazy.” Nino replied, not wanting to believe that this cool dude was really the son of a madman. “They look nothing alike!”

Kim whispered to Max, “I hear that he gets his looks from his missing mother.” 

Mylene began to pull out her phone. “Maybe we should call Marinette and get to the bottom of this, learn her reasoning for keeping this a secret.”

“No.” Alya stated.

“No?” everyone said unanimously, looking at each other.

“No.” Alya said again, holding up a gas mask “I've got a better idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So glad I now have deadlines put into my phone!


	10. Protest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What the hell are you doing?!”
> 
> “What you didn't have the balls to do!”

“It's going to be a big crowd tonight. I think it will be good for us all.”

Mr. Agreste was making small talk with several council members and business partners as the gala went into full swing. The ballroom was decorated with crystal figurines, a scale-model of the new hotel, tables with large flower arrangements in the center, and a media center with a virtual tour of the new development. Marinette was in a short, sleeveless black dress with white cuffs on her wrists. Adrien wore a tuxedo with a subtle light pink handkerchief in his coat pocket. He wore that just for Marinette.

Gabriel saw his son in the corner of the room, being a wallflower as usual. “There's my son.” he said to his company “Excuse me.” He walked over to his son, who stiffened upon feeling his father’s presence. Gabriel stood by his son, watching the crowds. “You look well.” he said to his quiet son.

“Thank you.” Adrien replied in a low voice, avoiding his father’s gaze. 

“What do you think? I do believe that Chloe did a wonderful job planning this.” Chloe stepped up to the podium and tapped on the mic, signaling the official beginning of the gala. Mr Agreste put on a fake smile and began to walk towards the podium. “It’s show time.”

Chloe looked out upon the crowd and smiled “I'd like to thank everyone for being here,” she said in as pleasant a voice as she could muster. “Now, with no further ado, the man responsible for the city's latest beautification project, Mr. Gabriel Agreste.” The crowd began to applaud as Chloe backed off of the stage and clapped along while Mr. Agreste took the stage.

“Thank you, Chloe. Thank you all.” Mr. Agreste started, glancing down at the note cards he had his assistant make up. “I'd like to extend a very special welcome to the great Mayor of Paris, my good friend, André Bourgeois.” Good friend may have been a stretch... “All of us at _Agreste Global Properties_ look forward to a long working relationship with the city council and the entire Latin Quarter community. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. I'd like to present to you: _Devant Rio_.” 

A video on the media screen began with a 3D rendering of what the project was going to look like, with a caption reading _Rebuild the Latin Quarter_ in a fancy font. With a white exterior, golden embellishments, and crystal chandeliers, the hotel was going to be one of Paris’ greatest hotels, rivaling the one that the mayor owned. The video began cutting out, then it came back with huge red lettering covering the image of the hotel. 

**DESTROY THE LATIN QUARTER**. 

The screen turned red.

Marinette, who was getting another tray of drinks, began to look around the ballroom. She had seen this method before. It was one she and Alya used almost a year ago at a movie premiere. _Dear God, please tell me it is not them!_ The crowd began to wonder what was going on. “I think we're having some technical difficulties.” Mr. Agreste said, attempting to reassure everyone. “Why don't we cut the video? Please cut the video.” Another bang from the video. 

**UH-OH! LOOK OUT**

Someone screamed by the doors as smoke grenades began to be let in through the doors and the people began to panic. Marinette handed her plate of drinks to Alex, who was equaling confused, but unaware about who was behind this. Mr. Agreste made his way towards the video booth, Chloe soon at his side. “Call the police.”

“Already done.” Chloe responded.

**TIME FOR REVENGE**

Music began playing as a small group of people in gas masks with laser-pointers attached and hoodies entered the room in a single file line, clapping their gloved hands. People began to run as the group spread out. 

**AKUMA STYLE**

The dancers marched for a few beats, shaking the floor of the ballroom. There could not have been more than twenty dancers. _A secret flashmob,_ Marinette thought. Dancers began to jump onto the tables, smashing the flowers and the figurines. The screen showed a picture of Gabriel Agreste.

**CORRUPT**

**GREED**

**AGRESTE EQUALS CORPORATE CRIMINAL**

The dancers continued moving, all of their steps resembling fighting moves, like what one might learn in the military. A threat.

A video of Adrien dancing with _The Akuma’s_ filled the screens. Everyone in the room gasped. Gabriel looked at the screen in horror. 

**EVEN HIS OWN SON IS AGAINST HIM**

The video of Adrien and Marinette practicing in _The Studio_ appeared on the screen, Adrien's head blown up to fill the screen. 

“How else are we supposed to stop my big, horrible, greedy father from destroying your beautiful neighborhood?”

Adrien looked at the screen, unaware that he had been videotaped that day. Mr. Agreste looked at the familiar face on the screen, then to his son. “Adrien?” Adrien turned to his father, totally speechless.

“He would freak out if he knew I was involved. Freak out if he knew I was involved.”

The doors to the ballroom opened, with officers escorting the guests out of the area. 

“My big, horrible, greedy, greedy-greedy father… How else are we supposed to stop my greedy, greedy-”

Gabriel gave a disapproving glare at his son, the turned around. “Mayor! Stop!” Mr. Agreste yelled at Mayor Bourgeois, who continued running with the rest of the crowds, Mr. Agreste following close behind. The dancers grouped around one larger dancer, who tore off his mask, grabbed a microphone, and screamed into it before being taken down by police officers. Everyone began to scatter.

Marinette ran towards one of the destructive dancers, the person stopping in their tracks before Marinette ripped of their mask. It was Alya. “What the hell are you doing?!” Marinette asked, ready to punch her _supposed_ best friend.

“What you didn't have the balls to do!” Alya responded, pushing Marinette away. “Or were you too busy banging the boss's son to care?” Marinette let one loose, hitting Alya in the cheek before she saw a trio crowding around Adrien. 

“Adrien!” Marinette began to take down the dancers surrounding Adrien, first Kim by way of hitting his nuts, Ivan by kicking the back of his knees, and Max by ripping off his gas mask, as well as his glasses, and tossing them out the window.

“Marinette, are you alright?” Adrien asked, turning Marinette around to examine her. 

Marinette thought it was sweet before reality set in. _It’s 'The Akumas' that are doing this. Adrien knows them. He thinks I did this! He thinks-_ Marinette pushed Adrien away. “Oh my god, you must think I used you!”

Adrien was confused. “What?!” He knew who was doing this, but it wasn’t like Marinette to go around causing destruction. That’s not how she rolled. “No, I know that you would never do something like this.”

Marinette ran her fingers through her hair, having a Level Five panic attack. “I swear to God I did not know Alya was gonna do this!”

“Marinette, I can see that. I know you would never do something like this.” Marinette began to walk away with guilt written all over her face “Marinette!”

“Leave. Get as far away from me as possible. Far from _The Akuma’s_! It’s for your own good!” Marinette ran. With white, hot tears rolling down her face. She swore that she was going to kill Alya and that stupid temper of hers. Then, she saw two officers on top of Alya, holding her on the ground. Marinette was not about to get Alya arrested and locked away somewhere Marinette wasn’t going to be able to kill her. “Get off of her!” Marinette yelled, knocking the leaner of the cops off of his feet and landing a right hook on the second officer’s jaw before more cops came to assist. In the end, Marinette was also arrested for assaulting an officer. As they pressed her onto the ground, Marinette only thought one thing...

_Alya, you better hope I do not learn how to make a shank in prison. Otherwise, you are dead!_


	11. The End?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What did you think was going to happen, Mari? Think the old man was just gonna give you his blessing? You go live happily ever after with his little prince?” 
> 
> Marinette turned around and began to walk away. 
> 
> “You know what? I can't believe after everything we've been through, you'd pick that lying son of a bitch over me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, just a warning, this one is a lot of little segments. That's the way it was in the movie, so I decided to keep it. Also switched up the lover spat situation from the movie because I thought it made more sense for these characters this way. #sorrynotsorry

“You lied to me, Marinette. You lied to all of us.”

“I did, Alya. I lied to you. I was trying to protect a boy I really care about, but I guess it taught me a lesson.”

Tom Dupain escorted both of the girls out of the police station, having just paid for their bail. “Shut up, both of you! You have been fighting all night! You knuckleheads never know when to give up, do you? Your little stunt is now all over the news.” They opened the doors and exited the building to find Nino and Alex waiting for them outside. Before any of the girls could muster up a greeting, Nino spoke.

“We've been disqualified from the contest.”

“That's impossible!” Alya said after what Nino said registered in her mind. “We got the hits.”

“Yeah, well, we got an email from corporate office this morning.” Alex said, pulling out her phone to show them the email. “They don't want to be associated with criminal activities.”

Alya looked like she was about to punch something. “That's bullshit.”

“Agreste is pressing charges. We're out.”

Marinette just couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She let out a small scoff. “Guess we both got taught a lesson, huh Alya?”

“Screw them.” Alya said, pointing to Alex’s phone, before she directed her rage towards Marinette. “Screw you, too!”

“Too late, Alya.” Marinette responded, backing away. “You already screwed everyone.”

“What did you think was going to happen, Mari? Think the old man was just gonna give you his blessing? You go live happily ever after with his little prince?” Marinette turned around and began to walk away. “You know what? I can't believe after everything we've been through, you'd pick that lying son of a bitch over me!” Before Alya knew what was happening, she was on the ground with Marinette above her, a stinging pain on her cheek. _Damn, I forgot how fast and hard this girl hits_ she thought.

“Look, _I_ was the one who told him to keep quiet about his father because… because I _knew_ you were too stubborn to get past it. You might think a lot of things about him, but he would never do that to someone.” Marinette stepped away from Alya, shaking her head “Forget this. _I quit_.” Marinette walked away before anyone could stop her.

Nino tried to help Alya up, only to get smacked. “Get off me, man!” Alya shouted before walking in the opposite direction of Marinette.

\-------------------------------------

Adrien dialed a number for what felt like the hundredth time that day. It rang once before a familiar voice answered. 

“Hey, it's Marinette. Leave me a message and I'll call you back.” The ever lovely voicemail greeting, followed by a beep.

“Mari, it's Adrien. You have to believe me, I don’t blame you for what went down last night. I know you weren’t in on it. Please just give me a chance to try and figure things out with you. You have my number.” Adrien hung up the phone and turned his head to see his father on the other side of the room.

“Are you calling that girl again?” Mr. Agreste asked, a disapproving look on his face.

Adrien sighed. “I'm sorry about what I did, father. I never meant to hurt you. But you have to understand that you can’t just destroy an entire community!”

Gabriel straightened his tie. “That doesn’t matter anymore. It's all over now. The plans were approved. We're gonna start construction right away.” He then left his son alone in his room, no guilt in the businessman’s heart. 

\---------------------------------------

_The Akuma’s_ were in the Dupain bakery, helping Mr. Dupain clear everything out of their old hangout. Alya was in the basement with the girls organizing junk for valuable, while the men were helping with the heavy equipment upstairs. Everything was going to be moved to a storage unit until the Dupain’s could get back on their feet. Nino handed a Mixer to Tom, who put it into a box.

“Where's Marinette?” Nino asked.

“She was here this morning to help.” Tom replied, gesturing upstairs. Nino nodded and continued working.

\---------------------------------------

“You have twenty messages.”

Marinette hung up her phone, not wanting to hear all of Adrien’s messages. She put her phone on the counter and began to help her mother. She picked up some of their family photos. “Where do you want these, Maman?”

“Here,” her mom responded, gesturing to a box.

\--------------------------------------

The tension in the room was suffocating to Adrien’s lungs. Marinette was supposed to be here, but after what happened just three days before, he doubted that she would show up. But he needed her to get into the company!

“Adrien Agreste.” 

Adrien took a deep breath, already planning out the changes in the dance to make this a solo.

Thomas Astruc looked at Adrien in curiosity. “Adrien, I thought you were doing a duet.” he said.

“I've changed my mind.” Adrien responded “I'm doing a solo.”

\--------------------------------------

Marinette sat on the edge of the dock, looking towards the Eiffel Tower. Her mind was clouded by thoughts of how her parents were going to survive without the bakery, or what was going to happen to her group now that she was not leading. The application to the job at the pier that her mother had given her was in hand. She was debating whether or not to turn in the filled out application, when someone yelling disturbed her thoughts.

“Marinette!”

Marinette turned her head to address who was calling for her, when she spotted a familiar blond running towards her. “Adrien? What are you doing here?” she asked, before she realized that he did not just run into her in this part of town “How did you even find me?”

“You’re father told me that you’d be here.” Adrien replied, catching his breath “I thought you would like to to know if I made the company or not.” 

“Did you?”

“... No, I didn’t”

“Oh…” the silence between the two adults was deafening. Marinette couldn’t stand it for longer than ten seconds, though it felt like longer. “What are you gonna do now?”

Adrien sighed. “Keep my promise. Go back and work for my dad.”

“Don't do that, Adrien. Don't give up yet.”

“What about you? When's the next _attack_?”

Marinette looked at the ground “I don’t know. I’m not in the group anymore”

“What?! Your home is being destroyed! You should be fighting for what you want.”

Marinette got up, keeping her gaze away from Adrien. “I don’t know what I want anymore…” She then walked away before he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.


	12. One Last Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Maybe there's a way to fix all that. To give us one more shot.”
> 
> Alya crossed her arms with a smile, seeing the wheels turn in her best friend’s head. “To do what?”
> 
> “To do what The Akuma’s was intended to do. To be heard.”

“This is where Marinette and I came up with the first _Attack_. Right here.”

Alya stood in the center of an empty lounge next to Mr. Dupain. All of the memories that the group had made over the last ten or so years seemed as if it were for nothing. Their homes were about to be destroyed, and there was nothing that they could do about it.

“You know, this stuff between you two, it's no good.” Tom said.

Alya scoffed, rubbing her cheek, which was still bruised. “Well, I didn't start it.”

“But you ended it.” Tom replied. “And made it a lot worse for everyone.”

“She lied to me, Dupain!” Alya yelled.

Tom sighed “You're young. You haven't met that special someone yet. So you don't know. But one day you will. And when you do, I hope you won't lose that special someone the way your friend and my daughter did.” Alya looked at the ground, knowing that the man was right. “Go make it right, will you?” Alya looked at him, and saw the desperation in Tom’s eyes. “Please?”

\-----------------------------------

“What are you looking at?” “Look girl, I really messed up. And I don't have an excuse other than... I don't know… It just felt like we've always had that whole "you and me against the world" thing. I started to feel like it was fading. But it doesn't matter. It was stupid. I'm sorry.”

“It's not all on you.” Marinette sighed. “I should have never lied to you.”

Alya gave a nervous smile. “Does that mean I've got my best friend back?”

“I don't know. Are we supposed to exchange rings or something?”

“God, no. Girl, I love you, but not in that sort of way. But you did knock one of my fillings loose,  
you crazy freak. From now on, this is the only thing you get to hit, okay?” Alya held up her fist.

“Okay.” Marinette replied, fistbumping her friend. 

“Hang on.” Alya waved at a group in the distance, who walked up to their former leader with guilt and regret written all over their faces.

“We're sorry, Mari.” Nino said, speaking up first. “All of us.”

“Yeah, _The Akuma’s_ ain't the same without you.” Alex added on, taking off her hat.

“We took _The Akuma’s_ , everything we had, and we turned something positive…” Kim said, obviously not used to having to apologize for his actions, “Into something ugly and revolting.”

Marinette began thinking. “Maybe there's a way to fix all that. To give us one more shot.”

Alya crossed her arms with a smile, seeing the wheels turn in her best friend’s head. “To do what?”

“To do what _The Akuma’s_ was intended to do. To be heard.” Marinette could tell that not everyone was following. “It's not about a contest anymore, guys. It's about giving the people that can't speak a voice. Only thing is, to pull this last _Attack _off, we're gonna need some more voices. Actually, a lot more.”__

__“That shouldn't be a problem.” Max said “We've got a lot of folks around here that like to be heard.”_ _

__Marinette smiled “Well then, we've got a shit load of work to do.”_ _

__\-------------------------------_ _

__“Five, six, seven, eight.” Marinette guided a group of dancers in a routine. Everything was going good until they repeated the step, then Marinette had to stop the music. “Listen up, listen up!” She yelled to the group “It's not a freestyle session. It's up here.” She demonstrated the move. “The second one is down here. Now do it again!” She pressed play on the speaker._ _

__Marinette walked back over to Alya and Kim, who were leaning against the wall as they watched the dancers. “If this works, it's gonna be a damn miracle.” Alya said._ _

__“Yeah.” Kim replied. “We're gonna need all the help we can get.”_ _

__\--------------------------------------_ _

__Kim held the phone up as he and Max called a friend. “Kim? Max? Yo! What's up? What's going on?” a voice on the other line said._ _

__“Hey, man!” Kim said. “We've got something big popping off in Paris. We’re gonna need some help from _The Kwami’s_ to help pull it off. What do you and Tikki think about bringing your crew to Paris and helping us out?”_ _

__They heard some whispering on the other line before the voice responded in a curious tone. “Okay. What do you two got in mind?”_ _

__\----------------------------------------------_ _

__Kim dragged a metal rod across the floor, sparks flying up from where the rod made contact. Marinette, Alya, Max, Nino, and Alex were impressed that he had found something like this. “Check this out. That's fresh, right? Now imagine a bunch of people doing that, coming down the way we want to.”_ _

__Alya nodded her head. “That's really cool, Kim, but that leaves one thing. What are we gonna do about costumes?”_ _

__Nathanael suddenly came racing through the room, holding a tablet. He stopped for a moment with a huge grin on his face. “I've got it,” he said before running back to the costume room._ _

__Kim sighed at Nathanael's sudden outburst. “So, he has costumes now?”_ _

__Marinette sat there with her mouth open. “He just talked.” Everyone else in the room looked towards the artist, their jaws dropping as well._ _

__\----------------------------------------_ _

__“You know what, my friends? Today is our day.” Mayor Bourgeois spoke, surrounded by empty shipping containers on the edge of the river. Everyone from The Latin Quarter was in the crowd, about to see their homes handed off to a businessman who had no intent of letting them stay. “And what an exciting day for this neighborhood which is about to enter a new era of prosperity. Thank you.” There was going to be very little clapping in the ceremony from what the Mayor could tell from the enthusiasm in the current audience. “It's been a difficult journey to get to this moment, lots of discussions, some disagreements…”_ _

__“I'm glad you're here.” Gabriel whispered to Adrien, who was stiff in his seat behind the Mayor. “We'll be back in Lyon soon, put all this behind us. Okay?”_ _

__“Now I'm proud to welcome up here my dear friend, Gabriel Agreste, and to present to him, as a token of this occasion, a shovel that would say…” The mic cut out. “Hello?” Mayor Bourgeois said, confused “Hello?”_ _

__“Hang on.” Chloe tapped the mic a few times, but no sound came out. “Son-of-a-bitch.” she muttered as she left the stage to fix the problem. Everyone in the crowd thought it was just a technical difficulty until a voice was heard over the multiple speakers. A voice that everyone from the neighborhood recognized from her multiple summers spent helping her parents in the local bakery._ _

__“Ladies and gentlemen…”_ _


	13. The Final Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For weeks you've been asking, "Who are The Akuma’s?" The Akuma’s are all of us. The Akuma’s is Paris. And Paris is its culture. If you take down the culture, you take down Paris. We have something important to say. So now let us say it in the best way we know how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys, this had been quite the journey, but alas, our story has reached it's final chapter...
> 
> I really enjoyed making this for you guys, and if you have any suggestions of stories that I could do, just comment and I will see if that is something that I can do.
> 
> ENJOY!

Marinette’s voice was heard loud and clear over the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen… For weeks you've been asking, "Who are _The Akuma’s_?" _The Akuma’s_ are all of us.” Marinette came from between a stack of shipping containers, a large group of dancers behind her, all of them holding metal rods. Everyone was in the same style of clothing that they wore in the _Avenue de New York Attack_ “ _The Akuma’s_ is Paris. And Paris is its culture. If you take down the culture, you take down Paris.” The dancers shouted to agree “We have something important to say. So now let us say it in the best way we know how.”

The dancers shifted their bodies in accordance to that music, moving the rods back and forth and other dancers came forward. The front dancers connected the rods to the other dancer’s backs, the ‘moved’ them with the rods. All of the dancers moved with a sense of anger and rebellion. A group came forward from the crowd, making a grouping around one dancer. He twirled his rod around and did a complicated side flip before moving out of the way. With Marinette leading, the main group began to hop forward, banging the ends of their rods against the pavement as the ends sparked. Adrien smiled, almost laughed at the amount of detail that the group conjured up in less than a week.

Everyone got into a formation, jumping as they twirled their batons in synchronization. Half of the group threw their batons to the person on their right as they slid forward, the person left standing then taking the batons and hooking it over the partner on the ground and dragging them off. Kim couldn’t help but stick his tongue out while being pulled away.

A portion of the full crew broke away and regrouped, starting in the nearest corner of the shipping yard as other members began to climb on top of the shipping containers. Alya and Marinette stood side-by-side as they began to move forward with the rest of the group, moving with the beat of the music. Everyone was in tandem with the pop-and-lock style of hip-hop Marinette loved working with. A few dabs here and there, the crowd was going wild at this act of rebellion and revolution. They began to jump back and forth, from one foot to the next as everyone redressed the ‘stage’. The group did a much more stylish version of the running man, then dropped down to their knees, reached their hands to the sky, and put their palms on the ground as the music stopped. The dance was over. Everyone cheered as _The Akuma’s_ breathed in the success. 

Alix and Max began walking off of the shipping containers, when Alix stumbled on the edge, and fell! The audience gasped! Then she bounced back up onto the container and turned towards the audience, fist in the air. Everyone cheered! Max then jumped off of the container onto the trampoline below, bouncing back up and landing in a handstand. The pair did several flips, then began to ‘walk’ up and down the side of the shipping container, before finishing where they began.

Chloe tore through the crowd to a clearing where a group of officers were standing, all with aviator sunglasses and coffee in their hands, the head officer with a donut that he was about to stick in his mouth. “Hey!” Chloe screamed in the face of an officer, pulling the officer’s shoulder towards her, “Why aren't you doing anything?” The police officer turned his head towards Chloe in a robotic fashion, held up the donut in his hand, and shoved it into Chloe’s mouth, the girl too stunned to react.

Not officers, _Akuma’s_. They began to form a triangle, jerked to a stop, and dropped the coffee cups. Adrien could no longer hold in his laughter, his father looking at him with disdain. The ‘officers’ moved as if they were robots, pulling off their sunglasses, then putting them back on. They moved in front of a shipping container and formed a line, moving their arms in a waterfall effect before firing finger guns and moving back into a triangle formation. They rolled their writs and ‘holstered’ their guns. They popped their ribs to the right, pushed their shoulders back one at a time, then blew out. The man in front began to move back as the other dancers opened the door of the shipping container. Smoke began to billow out of the container as hand reached forward and pulled the officer into the darkness. The music stopped for a moment as everyone waited for what was next.

A large group of women began to run out of the container, quickly getting into formation. They opened their stances wide and began to roll their upper bodies up and down in a circle. One row turned around, shook their asses, then turned back around and rejoined the others. The group began to walk forward in a fashion that made fun of the way male gangsters walk, before stopping as an asian girl with unnatural red hair jumped in front of the rest of them. The main group backed up to give her space and she began to pop-and-lock as quickly as she could. Her shirt read _The Kwami’s_. She did a side flip before joining the rest of the group. They all pulled up a leg, pushed it down with their hands, then positioned themselves to look like they were holding guns, pulling back the ‘trigger’, and letting a few rounds loose. They heard a dull clapping and began to move the crowds back to make room for the stunt group. 

A group ran across the pavement and flipped before returning to a group. The group walked forward, and a few people ‘flipped’ others over. They then all separated into their separate areas, all doing as many impressive stunts as they could. Some spun on their shoulders, others flipped off of someone, and one even spun on his head. They all then got up and pointed towards something behind them, freezing until the crowd looked up and over them.

Five men, with Kim in the center, stood on the edge of a steep ramp, bungee cords attached to their backs. They all began to slowly walk forward and back up, before they ran. In an alternate pattern, they ran forward, then backwards. They all began to jump these distances, the crowd going nuts. They all got back in a line as Kim ‘pushed’ the people on either side of him forward. They all began to shuffle their way back up the ramp, before Kim jumped forwards and signaled for someone to fly.

The music changed as a man in black flipped through the air, a hood on over his black hair and green cap. He landed at the drop of the next beat, the cat ears on his hood keeping their form. People began to get into a new formation holding plastic shields, such as those police would use for crowd control. The man jumped again and landed as the people holding the shields banged them on the ground. The man pushed some of the dancers backwards and he created an aisle for himself, before he became closed in again. He pushed the people out of the way, and screamed with the music.

_Shut the lights off!_

The man turned around, the back of his black hoodie with green writing that said _The Kwami’s_. The shield holders formed a ramp for him to run across to the back as the rest of the dancers flooded the space. With Marinette in center, they began to perform the final moves as their leader said them in her head. _Left, right, leg up, down, pop, drop, hand, grab, spin, flip, jump, and done!_ The music stopped as all of _The Akuma’s_ swarmed Marinette in the joy of their finishing the tiring dance. 

Adrien ran towards Marinette, but she got swept up in the crowd. Alya poked him from behind, and he turned around and hugged her. “You did it! You actually pulled it off!”

“Not yet. There's one more thing to do.” Alya waved at Nino, who began switching tracks. She then turned back to Arien and gave him a pat on the back. “Go get her back.”

Adrien smiled and ran back towards the stage. Marinette was slowly being pushed that way, and when her back hit the wood, she turned around and saw Adrien standing there with his hand outstretched towards her. She began to back up, but the rest of her crew pushed her forward. “Come on, Marinette. Isn't it time to start fighting for what we want?”

Gabriel showed up suddenly from behind Marinette “Adrien. What are you doing with her?” He asked his only child.

“Come on,” Adrien said softly, ignoring his father, “Just you and me against the world.” Marinette hesitantly reached her hand up and grabbed his as Adrien pulled her up onto the stage. She kicked off her sneakers, the crowds began to quiet down, and the music began.

Adrien stood behind Marinette and placed his hand on her chest, hers following in suit. He began to run his fingers through her hair with his other hand, and she did the same. She took ahold of his hands and stretched them out, before rolling her chest forward as Adrien took ahold of her waist and lifted her into the air. He did a half circle, then placed her back on the ground as Marinette swung her arm back and grabbed the back of his head, using it as an anchor to roll out of his grasp. They faced each other, then Marinette bended back, Adrien holding her, and rolled back up onto her toes. 

She fell forward, wrapping her arms around Adrien’s neck as he dragged her across the stage, then lifted one of her legs into the air. She turned and began to pull away, but Adrien held her hand tight and pulled her back towards him. He hoisted Marinette over his shoulder, her legs up in the air as they spun around. She put her legs back down as Adrien lowered her. Marinette swung around and put her forehead on Adrien’s as they slid across the stage. Marinette then fell backwards as her partner grabbed her hand, held her up, then pulled as he locked his arm around her neck. Marinette swung out and put her head on Adrien’s back, slowly sinking down, holding onto his hand. She bounced up, Adrien turning around and thrusting his hand to her side, Marinette reacting. Adrien then moved behind her, held her waist as she swung her leg, then lifted Marinette as she straddled her legs, spinning through the air. 

Marinette pushed Adrien away, but he held on to her hand as she leapt towards him and wrapped her legs around his waist, placing her head in the crook of his neck. Adrien leaned her back in a circle, pulling her up as she set her feet onto the ground. Marinette bent backwards, Adrien lowering her and pulling her back up. He wrapped his arms around her waist, standing behind her. Marinette then unraveled herself, facing him and pulling his face towards hers, foreheads touching as the slowly walked in a circle. Marinette then leaned back one more time, Adrien's forehead against hers the entire time, and came back up as the music ended.

Everyone cheered for the duo, who were so clearly insync that everyone in the audience could feel their passion for each other. Marinette and Adrien stepped down from the stage, Alya hugging them both as a tear fell from her eyes. “That was beautiful, girl,” she said, trying to hide the fact that she had started crying.

The man in black and green with the cat ears stepped forward and swung his arm around Gabriel’s shoulders.“Hello, HM, my boy.” He said in such a casual manner. “I'm Plagg Giovani Sextimus Alexander the Third. But you can call me Moose.”

Gabriel looked annoyed. “Moose?”

“What up?” Plagg said with a devilish smile. “I think it's pretty clear that this community has something to say to you. And me and my crew are here to help them say it.”

Marinette stepped out of the group with Adrien at her side. “Mr. Agreste? There's no way we can stop you from destroying our neighborhood. But we wanted to show you what's being lost in the process.”

Mayor Bourgeois broke through the crowd, wiping the sweat off of his brow. “I'm so sorry about this, Mr. Agreste. Things didn't quite go as planned.”

“Good.” Gabriel said in a deadpan manner. “Because our plan just changed.”

Everyone nearby said “What?” in unison

Gabriel sighed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe there's a way we can build this neighborhood up without tearing it down.” He turned to Adrien and smiled. “What do you say?”

Adrien had the biggest grin take over his face “Yes!” _The Akuma’s_ cheered!

Gabriel turned to Plagg and questioned the dancer. “Why "Moose" now?”

Plagg smiled as he laughed at the businessman. “I think the question you have to ask yourself is, ‘Why not 'Moose'?’”

The unnatural redhead from earlier walked up behind Plagg and wrapped her arm around his. “Plagg, it’s time to go.”

“I feel ya, Tikki. I’ll see you around, HM.” Plagg and Tikki began to walk away, when Plagg turned his head back towards Gabriel. “Oh! By the way, Nooroo says hi!” he shouted before he and his partner disappeared into Paris.

The tall, lanky business man from the council meeting stepped forward in an attempt to talk to what seemed like Gabriel. “Excuse me, Mr. Agreste.” he said, trying to get past the hotel owner.

“Not now, Ramier,” Agreste said, unable to deal with all of the commotion any longer.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to her,” Ramier said, pointing at Marinette. “I'm Xavier Ramier, owner of the marketing firm Mr. Agreste employed. I hope you don't object, but our biggest client is actually _Nike_.”

Alya acted like it was no big deal. “Yeah, so?” she said.

“Well, they're looking for something different and a little more cutting edge for their new campaign. I think your crew is perfect.” Ramier smiled “Ready to introduce _The Akuma’s_ to the world?”

Marinette turned to Alya. “What do you think?” she asked.

“What do I think?” Alya said, looking slightly disgusted, before turning towards Mr. Ramier and changing her expression to desperate. “Where do I sign?”

Marinette’s crew cheered, no longer hiding from the law. Adrien brought Marinette close, both of them looking out over the people in front of them. “Look at what you did,” Adrien said. “You brought all these people together.”

“You know,” Marinette said with a smirk, “We could still use somebody who knows how to break the rules.” Adrien looked at her, a fire returning to his eyes, and his trademark grin across his lips.

“I'm in.”

\--------------------------

Everyone danced to the music back at the dance lounge. Marinette craned her neck, wondering where Adrien was. _He said he was going to be here… And what is this ‘surprise’ about?_ She turned around to go upstairs and look out the door, only to see a man in black and green clothing giving her a mischievous grin. The upper half of his face was covered by black face paint, and his blond hair was ruffled and messy. His jacket hood was up and… were those cat ears on the top?

Marinette shook her head and smiled. “You just have to take these things too far, don’t you?”

Adrien walked up to her and grabbed her arm. “Only when I feel like it.” A new song came on over the sound system as Nino gave Adrien a thumbs up. “Now, why don’t we go and show these rookies what a real power team dance duo can do?”

Marinette and Adrien began to walk into the center of the dance floor. “Let’s do this.”

The beat dropped and the dance began.

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I am thinking about making a short one-chapter segment on why Plagg was calling Gabriel 'HM' sooo, maybe one more chapter?
> 
> Don't count on it though, these dance scenes take forever to type out!


End file.
